Hello again …

The Predators expect to see a familiar foe in net tonight for the Detroit Red Wings.

With starter Jimmy Howard nursing back spasms, Chris Osgood is supposed to start for the Wings. No goaltender has more career wins against the Preds (18) than Osgood.

“When he’s on he’s really on. When he’s not 100 percent on, the game won’t be as tight,” Predators Coach Barry Trotz said. “You have be able to just find holes, number one, you have to get a lot of pucks at him. He’s not a big goalie by today’s standards, so you have to get traffic and keep him really busy.”

So expect a lot of pepper at Osgood tonight from the Preds.

When asked about Nashville’s high differential in shots for versus shots against, Nashville coach Barry Trotz said the Preds were attempting a lot of shots, but they weren’t getting at the net. Over their first nine games, the Preds have taken on average 29.9 shots on goal and allowed 34.8.

“We generate a lot of shots from our points, so there’s a second layer. You may get it by the first four, but usually a center or two defensemen with some of our forwards are in front to stop it. When I look at the blocked shots, we’re hitting our own guys in front of the net,” Trotz said. “We ask our guys to go to the net for net presence, which is great, and ask our guys to shoot the puck, and they’re shooting it. But sometimes you hit your own guys as well as their guys.”